Free software is simply software that respects our freedom — our freedom to learn and understand the software we are using. Free software is designed to free the user from restrictions put in place by proprietary software, and so using free software lets you join a global community of people who are making the political and ethical assertion of our rights to learn and to share what we learn with others.

GNUs trick-or-treat at Windows 8 launch

From October 26

Last Thursday, the Free Software Foundation crashed the Windows 8 launch event in New York City. A cheerful GNU and her team handed out DVDs loaded with Trisquel, FSF stickers, and information about our new pledge, which asks Windows users to upgrade not to Windows 8, but to GNU/Linux.

Nominate your free software heroes

From October 18th

The nomination window for the 15th annual Free Software Awards is open. Now is your chance to show some love for your favorite free software hero or an inspiring project that uses free software or free software principles to benefit humanity. November 15th is the deadline for nominations, so don't wait!

Happy Ada Lovelace Day!

From October 16th

October 16th is Ada Lovelace Day, a day to celebrate women's contributions to science and technology.

Last year, FSF executive director John Sullivan wrote, "these stories are an important way to simultaneously highlight both the under-representation of women in these fields and — based on the achievements of women who are in these fields — the potential we could realize if barriers to participation can be named and removed." This year, FSF campaigns manager Libby Reinish takes this thought and builds on it.

GNU MediaGoblin offers what you've been missing in an Internet media-sharing system

From October 11th

Today the Free Software Foundation is proud and excited to assist the GNU MediaGoblin project in its fundraising effort. MediaGoblin's volunteer team is working on a next-generation social web system where users will share their experiences through photos, videos and audio, all without running proprietary software. This project is ambitious, not just because it will support multiple media types, but also because it will use a special new network system called federation, which unifies a group of separately-owned servers into a single interface for the user. This means that anyone wishing to start a MediaGoblin server will be able to do so, optionally customizing the code to their needs and offering unique options to users.

We'd also like to mention that right now all contributions to MediaGoblin are being doubled!

Your right to own, under threat

From October 28th

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments today in a case called Kirtsaeng v. Wiley, and their final decision could help shape the future of "first sale," a legal doctrine that underpins the right to sell, lend, or give away the things you buy, even if those things contain copyrighted elements.

Join the FSF and friends in updating the Free Software Directory

From October 30th

Tens of thousands of people visit directory.fsf.org each month to discover free software. Each entry in the Directory contains a wealth of useful information, from basic category and descriptions, to providing detailed info about version control, IRC channels, documentation, and licensing info that has been carefully checked by FSF staff and trained volunteers.

While the Free Software Directory has been and continues to be a great resource to the world over the past decade, it has the potential of being a resource of even greater value. But it needs your help staying up to date with new and exciting free software projects.

To help, join volunteer leader Andrew Engelbrecht on Fridays from 2pm to 5pm EDT (18:00 to 21:00 UTC). Meetings take place in the #fsf channel on irc.gnu.org, and usually include a handful of regulars as well as new volunteers. Everyone's welcome.

Summer 2012 trip to Europe: Photos from InterTice, in Marly-le-Roi

From October 11th

RMS was in Marly-le-Roi, France, on 27 June, to deliver his speech "Logiciels Libres et éducation," at InterTice Logiciels Libres, a selection of practical workshops designed to present possible pedagogical uses of free software, to an audience of over 200 educational inspectors, teachers, school directors, and local authorities.

LulzBot AO-100 3D printer now FSF-certified to respect your freedom

From October 9th

The Free Software Foundation (FSF) today awarded its first Respects Your Freedom (RYF) certification to the LulzBot AO-100 3D Printer sold by Aleph Objects, Inc. The RYF certification mark means that the product meets the FSF's standards in regard to users' freedom, control over the product, and privacy.

LibrePlanet featured resource: Windows 8 Group

Every month on LibrePlanet, we highlight one resource that is interesting and useful -- often one that could use your help.

For this month, we are highlighting the Windows 8 group page, where people are sharing their concerns about the new proprietary operating system. You are invited to adopt, spread and improve this important resource. Ideas from this page will likely be used in a whitepaper and campaign about Windows 8.

As always, please feel free to write to me, karl@gnu.org, with any GNUish questions or suggestions for future installments.

GNU Toolchain update

From October 29th

The GNU toolchain refers to the part of the GNU system which is used for building programs. These components of GNU are together often on other systems and for compiling programs for other platforms. This post on the GNU toolchain blogs covers developments from the last two months.

Take action with the FSF

Contributions from thousands of individual members enable the FSF's work. You can contribute by joining at http://www.fsf.org/join. If you're already a member, you can help refer new members (and earn some rewards) by adding a line with your member number to your email signature like:

The FSF is also always looking for volunteers (http://www.fsf.org/volunteer). From rabble-rousing to hacking, from issue coordination to envelope stuffing -- there's something here for everybody to do. Also, head over to our campaign section (http://www.fsf.org/campaigns) and take action on software patents, DRM, free software adoption, OpenDocument, RIAA and more.

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